


Fanfic by Skye

by littlescienceloves



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-02-02
Packaged: 2018-03-05 06:12:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3109046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlescienceloves/pseuds/littlescienceloves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Skye captains the Fitzsimmons ship and accidentally ends up writing fanfic about the entire team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning (or Skye's perfect plan...)

It was the perfect plan. At least, that’s what Skye told Trip at roughly 2 am… after a few beers. 

It had all started because “Those two geniuses are the biggest pair of idiots I’ve ever met” (to quote Skye). 

“You realize that that doesn’t make any sense?” Trip asked. 

Skye ignored him. “I just. I ship them so hard,” Skye whined, grabbing another beer out of the fridge. 

“You what?” 

“Ship them,” she repeated. “You know, want to smush their faces together and make them kiss and/or lock them into a room until they rip each other’s clothes off.”

Trip raised an eyebrow. 

“Oh come on, we can all see it. They are perfect for each other. We just need to make them realize that.” 

After a few minutes of brainstorming (“No, we cannot let this happen naturally. I’ve waited too long.”), Skye said, “I can picture them together. Fitz would be super timid in the beginning, Simmons would probably kiss him first. Then they would not be able to keep their hands off of each other. Like I’m 75% sure they would even end up doing it in the lab. And because of all of the sex they would of course get pregnant and Fitz would call their baby his little monkey and don’t you just want a baby on the base?” 

Trip, in fact, did not think it was safe to have a baby on the base. But that did not seem to stop Skye.

“That’s it! I’ve figured it out!” she said suddenly. “I’m going to write fanfiction.”

“You’re going to do what?”

“Someone needs to give you access to the internet,” Skye rolled her eyes. “Fanfiction. I’m going to write all this down and get them to read it. I am probably the smartest person here and I didn’t even have to go to any dumb academy or get those stupid PhDs. You should actually just give me a degree or something for this idea.”

And that was how Skye ended up writing Fitzsimmons fanfiction.


	2. Beta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Step 1. Get Simmons to be Beta

_…They had been studying all night. Simmons looked up from her textbook, her mind on other things… namely the Scottish boy sitting at the other end of the bed. “You know,” she started, closing her book. “We could always do… something else.”_

_He glanced up from his own work. “Eat?”_

_She sighed. “No, Fitz. We could study,” she paused, “anatomy. Possibly some chemistry. Human biology.”_

_“Isn’t that what you were already doing?”_

_Good lord, Simmons thought. This boy is oblivious. She tried again. “Maybe even human sexuality,” she continued, her voice trailing off._

_Fitz’ eyes grew wide. “You mean?…”_

_Simmons smiled. She leaned towards her best friend and—_

“Skye! Fitz and I did not have sex at the academy!”

“That’s debatable,” Skye muttered. 

“Why were you even writing this again?” Simmons asked, uncomfortably fiddling with her mug. 

“Oh,” Skye said lightly, “it’s just something fun. Writing practice. I thought I’d do it about the team because, well, it would be more interesting for everyone.”

Jemma raised an eyebrow but decided it best to let this one slide. “Well, you forgot a comma during the… oral sex scene… 'His licks were quick questioning' should be: 'his licks were quick comma questioning'...and I don’t know why you would call it ‘his length,’ I think we are all old enough to use proper terms.”

Skye mumbled something about how that was hardly sexy and let her continue. “And really, I don’t understand why you would think— Fitz and I—” Jemma shook her head. “If you’re practicing your writing… shouldn’t you do something less, well, risqué?”

“You can’t argue with the muse,” Skye said simply, grabbing her laptop. 

“Well, if you want me to— what did you call it? Beta? I am more than happy to help you with your writing. Though I would prefer if it wasn’t as… outlandish as this.”

As Skye walked out of the room, she made a mental note to hold off on the smut. For at least a bit. Work her way up to it, that was it. That way the next time Simmons read a sex scene between her and Fitz she wouldn’t find it… outlandish. 

So, Skye started planning some completely tame drabbles.


	3. Doctor Who

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simmons is starting to get suspicious...

_…Simmons knew exactly how he took his tea. Not too hot, or he would inevitably burn the roof of his mouth, and far more sugar than should reasonably be allowed. She poured a dash of milk in her own mug and walked over._

_They sat wordlessly for a few moments, absorbed in their own work. “Doctor Who tonight?” she asked._

_“Starting with nine again, yeah?” Fitz looked up from his work._

_She nodded. Things were so easy with her best friend._

“This is sweet,” Simmons smiled. “Fitz does use too much sugar.”

“I know, you’ve complained about it like a thousand times,” Skye mumbled. 

“I just don’t understand why these are all about me and Fitz,” Simmons continued. “First we had that rather graphic one at the academy, then the one about us baking. There was the ice skating one and the one where we went to the zoo…”

“You guys just inspire me, I guess,” Skye shrugged, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. 

Simmons still seemed pretty skeptical about the matter. She sighed. “You didn’t have as many grammatical errors this time. Just a comma here and there, which I already fixed. And the ninth doctor is Eccleston, not Tennant,” Simmons pointed out. “You know, you could always watch with us. We are due for another round of New Who.”

Skye’s eyes grew wide. “You are, huh? Well, that sounds… perfect.”

It was Simmons’ turn to get excited. “Really? I thought you said you didn’t want to ‘fall into the pit of nerdom’. Which was pretty rude, actually.”

“No, no. This sounds great. I have to work on… uh… something for Coulson. Crack an encrypted server, you know, normal stuff. So you guys can totally start without me… if it gets too late…” She was already on her way out of the room. “This will be the best,” she called out from the hall. 

* * *

“Skye…uh…she said she’d be here?” Fitz asked from his spot on the couch. 

“Well, she was worried that she might have to work late,” Simmons said, fiddling with the remote. She had already put the in first DVD (her and Fitz shared custody of the series 1-7 box set). “She did seem rather excited… but I guess she had to help Coulson. We could just start. It is getting a bit late.”

Fitz nodded and grabbed the bowl of popcorn he had insisted was crucial for their viewing party. 

“Alright,” Simmons turned on the episode and looked over at Fitz. Things were so easy with her best friend. 

_Dear lord_ , she thought. _Skye really is getting to me_. 

She shook her head and decided to focus on the show. 

Skye, meanwhile, was not working on an encrypted server. Instead, she was planning a rather elaborate AU where the whole team was at the academy. If Simmons was starting to get suspicious, well, she’d just start including the rest of the group as side characters. Nothing could get in the way of her genius plan.


	4. Academy AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye starts including other characters and has a (new) brilliant idea.

_…Trip’s parties were always the best. He was friends with just about everyone at the academy, had wonderful hosting skills, and provided an excellent selection of snacks (which Fitz seemed to think was the most important part)._

_Jemma, though, was not exactly happy that she was being dragged to his latest party._

_“You’re my wingman. Wing-girl? Whatever,” Skye insisted. “And I am trying to pick up this totally hot special ops student. I think he could kill someone with his jawline, not even kidding.”_

_“I really should be studying,” Simmons said for probably the fifth time that night._

_“No! You are a strong, beautiful wing-woman. Yeah, I’m sticking with that one,” Skye said, applying her mascara. “So, you should be doing your wing-woman-y duties. Plus, you’re bringing your boy toy, so I don’t see why you’re so down about this.”_

_“My boy toy?... You mean Fitz? How many times do I have to say this, we are just—”_

_“Friends. Yeah. I’ve heard,” Skye rolled her eyes. “But anything can happen at a party…” she said a bit too suspiciously for Jemma’s liking._

_“Skye, what did you do?”_

_“You’ll find out,” she smiled. “Now go pick out one of my sluttier dresses and we can leave.”_

_Which was how Jemma wound up in Trip’s rather crowded dorm room in an unreasonably tight, black dress. (Honestly, how did Skye even wear this?... if it was short on Simmons… well, she would prefer not to see how revealing it was on Skye)._

_Fitz was supposed to be here already and Simmons was getting impatient. Skye had already left to go make out with the Mr. Jawline and Simmons had spent the last thirty minutes listening to a grumpy boy and tall, blonde girl fighting in the corner._

_“…and of course you had to go and wear heels—”_

_“Stop acting like my height doesn’t turn you on,” the blonde girl cut him off._

_“…I should have known, demons are all hulking like you.”_

_The girl scoffed._

_Jemma checked her phone… again._ Are you almost here? 

_She got a response almost immediately._ Check the door :)

_And there he was, looking… good. Hot, really. He had on a pair of jeans that actually fit, a sweater, the sleeves rolled up just enough, and, oh lord, did he get a haircut?_

_“You like?” he asked sheepishly. “Skye sort of attacked me this afternoon.”_

_Jemma smiled. Why yes, she did like it. More than she would admit out loud…_

“You do realize that we are all different ages?” Jemma asked, her gaze leaving the laptop. 

“So,” Skye said. 

“Well, we wouldn’t be at the academy at the same time. And, of course, we would be at different schools,” Simmons added. 

“No, no, no. This is in an alternate universe. Trust me, it’s fine,” Skye smiled. 

“What’s in an alternate universe?” Trip asked, walking into the room. 

“My latest fic,” Skye smiled. “You throw a party.”

“Yeah I do,” he grinned. “Do I get to read it?” 

“Read what?” Bobbi asked, standing at the door. 

“Skye’s been doing some writing,” Trip smirked. “About us.”

“Good things, I hope,” Bobbi said, pulling out a seat. 

“I’ll send it to you guys later,” Skye smiled. “But first I think we need to stop everything because I am a literal genius.”

“Who apparently does not understand the definition of ‘literal’…” Simmons muttered. 

“Rude,” Skye said, before continuing. “We should have a party. On the base.”

“A party?” Mack asked as he walked in. 

“Yeah, all of us. Trip and I can do a covert mission to get some drinks, everyone will get dressed up. This will be the best,” Skye clapped her hands together. 

More of the team started milling into the room. Coulson was supposed to start their latest mission briefing in a couple of minutes. Skye grabbed the laptop from Simmons. “This weekend,” she smiled. “Get ready. After all, anything can happen at a party.”


	5. Read While Drunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Skye's party... (venturing into nsfw territory at the end).

Skye’s (fanfic based?) party was that night and Jemma was not exactly looking forward to it. She knew what Skye was doing. Of course she knew what Skye was doing. Those stories were entirely too obvious. And yet…

Her chin was resting against her palm, elbow firmly placed against the table. She was supposed to be working. Logically, she should have been working. Really, the last thing she should be doing is staring at her best friend, watching his hands as he fiddled with his latest project. He still stumbled, stopping to flex his bad hand from time to time, and she found herself imagining her own hand, gently against his skin, massaging until the tremors stopped, then traveling, exploring- 

No. This was ridiculous. She had work to do. And a party to get ready for, apparently. 

* * *

That night, Jemma found a rather small, black dress draped across her bed, a note (shield stationary, most likely stolen from Coulson’s desk) placed on top. 

_For Tonight. Wear it or else! -Skye xxxxxxx_

Jemma sighed. This was just taking it too far. Now she was supposed to dress the same way as she had in the story. Skye needed to be stopped. 

She put on the dress. It actually wasn’t all that bad. Tight, yes, but in a rather complementary way. She grabbed a cardigan to go with it, her own form of rebellion, and headed to the bus. 

“Welcome to the Party Plane,” Skye said in an overly exaggerated manner as Simmons walked up the ramp. 

“Party Plane?” Simmons raised an eyebrow.

“Perfect, right? Ohhh, or Party Bus! I am such a genius,” she smiled. “We’ve got everything set up in the lounge, I hacked the security feed so we won’t get any long talks about responsibility from Coulson or… I don’t know, angry, silent stares from May. And Trip went like way overboard and made all these complicated drinks,” she grinned and waved Simmons on. 

Most everyone was already there. Mack was sitting uncomfortably on the couch next to an equally uncomfortable Ward, Trip was happily behind the bar, making Skye a very pink drink with an absurd amount of cherries, and Hunter and Bobbi were arguing in the corner (dear lord, had Skye arranged that too?). 

Jemma’s eyes wandered, searching out Fitz. If she was going to be dragged into some absurd scheme, at least she should have her (totally platonic, thank you very much) drinking buddy. 

And there he was, standing by the door. Of course Skye had gotten him a new outfit, Jemma should have known. Dark jeans, sweater with the sleeves rolled up, and was that a tie? She hadn’t seen him wear a tie in ages. He looked… 

No. She couldn’t think like that. That was her best friend, after all. 

After a few (six) of Trip’s specialty drinks (and a couple of beers) though… well, she had less control over her thoughts. 

Fitz was hot. That was it, definitely, she told herself, looking at the scruff on his face. He never used to keep it like that, which was a shame. Really, this was all just a natural reaction, she thought, head against his shoulder. They had somehow managed to find themselves in her old bunk, a few stolen beers resting against the wall. 

“Do you remember when we used to hole up in here and watch movies?” She smiled, taking another swig of her beer. 

He nodded. “Sometimes we’d watch with the group. But— uh, I liked it. Just the two of us.”

It was her turn to nod. “You know, Skye’s been doing some writing.”

“What?”

“About us. She’s calling it fanfiction,” Simmons laughed. “Can you believe it?”

“Yeah… that’s—uh—ridiculous,” he managed. 

“I don’t know,” Simmons said (out loud?… she couldn’t tell). 

* * *

He had insisted on walking her to her room. (“Fitz, you are clearly more drunk than I am…” —“Am not”— “Are too!”). She stumbled her way to her bed. There was Skye’s note, still placed against her covers. Jemma picked it up, turning the card over in her hand. Which was when she noticed there was writing on the other side. 

_P.S. I emailed you something for after the party— ENJOY :)_

Jemma frowned. Not another story. No, she should sleep. Sleep sounded good. But…

Alright, she was curious. She pulled open her laptop and found the email. It was titled: “Read While Drunk”. She sighed and began. 

_Simmons snuck into Fitz' room. His door was unlocked. She sighed. Really, he should be more careful._

_“Jemma?” he asked, his voice rough with sleep._

_“Shhh,” she murmured, climbing into his bed._

_He raised an eyebrow. “Jem— what, uh. What are you doing?”_

_“What I should have done back at the academy.”_

_And then her lips were on his, rough, desperate._

_He pulled back, clearly surprised. “Are you sure?” he asked, a hard look on his face._

_“Fitz, I was the one to come in here,” she pointed out, exasperated._

_“Yeah. No. I knew that,” he mumbled._

_But then she was kissing him again. This time he was more than happy to respond, his hands pulling her forward, traveling against her back before settling on her ass. No, they needed to be closer. He tugged and she could feel him, hard against her._

_There were too many clothes. That was it. She pulled at his shirt, soft, worn. She had seen him in it so many times before. Late nights, watching Doctor Who… mornings, making pancakes. As soon as it was off, Jemma made the firm decision that, really, it was useless. New rule: Fitz was not allowed to wear shirts._

_Her mouth traveled to his neck, his shoulder, his now bare chest. She could hear his soft moans of approval. Oh lord, she liked getting that response from him._

_She pulled away, a knowing smile on her face, before unbuttoning her nightshirt._

_And there it was, that look on his face, a combination of appreciation, shock, and desire. His eyes rested for a moment on her breasts before he drew her back._

_This time_ he _got to work, lips brushing against her cheek, her collarbone, tongue toying with one of her nipples. And then he moved, lower, her abdomen, her hip. He pulled down her pajama pants, throwing them carelessly off of the bed. He looked up, checking, as if to make sure she was still happy, before leaning back down._

_She had thought about his hands before, toying with delicate machinery, working away in the lab, but she had not put much thought into his tongue. Which was a crime, really, when someone was so… enthusiastic._

_She could feel her body reacting, toes curling, a distinct tightening as his tongue stroked her clit. One hand gripping his sheets, the other grabbing his curls, yes, they needed to be closer, they need—_

_Her orgasm shot through her body, sending shocks of pleasure everywhere at once. She was gasping, quivering, beneath him. He looked up again, a distinct smile on his face. Apparently, he liked getting a response from her too._

_But no, she needed more. She led him up, hands back in his hair, and they were kissing, greedy, rushed, his fingers against her breasts. She moved her hands, tugging at the elastic on his flannel pants. He kicked them off, still distracted with his work on her nipples. He stopped when he realized that there was nothing stopping them, no clothes, no barriers._

_“Jemma, are you—” But she didn’t let him finish, her mouth back against his. She could feel his smile against her face._

_And then he slid into her, nothing separating them, just warmth and rocking hips, her teeth against his shoulder, sharp breaths. She could feel herself tighten around him, distracted hands and distracted kisses. And then she could tell he was so close, she was too, and she brought her lips to his ear. “Come with me,” she whispered. And they both let go._

Simmons took a deep breath. There were problems, obviously. The two of them would be smart enough to use a condom, for one. And, of course, the fact that her close friend thought she could get her to sneak into Fitz' room with some liquor and smut was certainly problematic. 

But. Jemma couldn’t help but think about it. His hands, his tongue, their bodies pressed together. 

She saved the document, closed her laptop, and went to sleep.


	6. The Smut War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Simmons starts to mess with Skye. Skye is more than happy to fight back.

“How was last night?” Skye asked over breakfast. “Did anything, I don’t know, exciting happen after you left?” 

Jemma sighed. “Skye, we are just friends.”

“Friends who sneak off to each other’s old bunks in the middle of a party,” Skye muttered. She walked over to pour herself some coffee. “I just thought with all the excitement and the alcohol and the—”

“Writing?” Simmons asked. 

Skye tried to shrug it off. “I’m writing about everyone. It’s practice.”

“Oh, really?” Jemma said. “So, who are you writing about now?”

Skye laughed. “Oh, that… that is an easy one. Of course I know who I’m writing about. Uh,” she looked around, spotting Trip, in the process of pouring out some cereal. “Trip and…” there was Lance, walking into the kitchen, “Hunter. Trip and Hunter. And oh boy, it’s a good one.”

“Can’t wait to read it,” Jemma said, pouring some tea to go. “I expect it will be just as… detailed as your last story.” She looked Skye straight in the eyes, trying to get a response. 

“Totally,” Skye said uneasily. 

Jemma smirked as she walked out of the room. Oh this was going to be good. 

* * *

“I think I just got Skye to write smut about Trip and Lance,” Jemma said, placing Fitz’ tea on his desk. 

“You— uh… what?”

“Oh, she thinks she can mess with me. Seems to forget that I am an actual genius, thank you very much,” she nodded to herself. 

Fitz still seemed a bit baffled by her previous comment, but he managed to ask, “What did Skye do?”

“Unimportant,” Simmons answered, sipping her own tea. “Is that the new—”

“Cloaking design. Yeah. I think I’ve fixed some of the problems we’ve had when it gets shot up…”

“I’ve been thinking, if we used a stronger—”

“Metamaterial? That’s brilliant.”

And they got to work. 

* * * 

“How’s the story going?” Simmons asked, her voice a little too sweet to sound properly innocent. She sat down at table next to Skye. 

“Oh. The, uhhh, Triplance one? All finished,” Skye smiled. “You want to read it?” She asked with her own feigned innocence.

“Of course,” Simmons said. Neither of them were going to back down anytime soon. 

Skye passed over the laptop. 

_“I fucking hate this country,” Hunter growled, already moody. “Who the hell puts a base in the bloody mountains.”_

_“Someone who wants to keep it a secret,” Trip said calmly. Hunter shot him a look. “Hey, at least we found this place. We can hold up here until the storm is over.” They’d been on their way to get in place and cover the girls from afar. But a snowstorm kicked up and they’d had to call it off for the night. May and Skye were able to get back to the Bus but Hunter and Trip found themselves stuck._

_They came across this little cabin that seemed to be empty. Must be someone’s summer hideout. Only nut jobs would come this far out in the middle of winter. It was nice enough though and they could get a fire going. Wouldn’t be the worst place to spend a night._

_As Trip moved towards the fireplace to get something going, he looked to find Hunter rummaging through the kitchen. “What exactly are you doing?”_

_“This place has to have a liquor cabinet and if we’re stuck here for the night, I’m going to need a stiff drink,” Hunter grumbled, continuing to rifle through the cabinets. “Bingo!” He turned grinning and brandishing a bottle of vodka. “Cheap stuff, but it’ll do in a pinch.”_

_Trip rolled his eyes and proceeded to make a fire while Hunter came over brandishing two glasses and the bottle. He set them on the coffee table and flopped down on the couch. Trip sat down next to him and watched him pour two drinks._

_“Cheers.” Trip took his and laughed, clinking his glass against Hunter’s._

_“Who goes on missions on New Year's anyway?”_

_“Well, all the security will be hungover tomorrow so at least that’ll work in our favor,” Hunter said and downed his drink in one go._

_“Easy tiger,” Trip laughed and Hunter glared at him._

_“Oh shut up." He rolled his eyes and poured another drink._

_There wasn’t much to do other than drink and talk. They hadn’t had a chance to get to know each other much on the Bus. Hunter was, actually, pretty funny when he wasn’t trying so hard and Trip…well everybody liked Trip once they got to know him. Eventually, Hunter looked down at his watch._

_“And that’s midnight. Happy New Year.” Hunter drunkenly turned to Trip. “Let’s get this over with.”_

_“Excuse me?”_

_“It’s midnight you’re supposed to kiss whoever you’re with,” Hunter slurred._

_“I don’t think it’s a rule Hunter.”_

_“Oh c’mon its bad luck if you don’t kiss anyone. It’s just a kiss who cares.”_

_“You’re serious?” Hunter nodded. He was drunk. Blackout, probably-wouldn’t-remember-anything-tomorrow drunk. No-longer-has-any-shame drunk. He seemed sincere. “Fuck it.” Trip threw back the rest of his drink. “Happy New Year.”_

_Hunter grinned and leaned in, planting his lips square on Trip’s. He was aiming for something chaste and close mouthed but they were both pretty gone so he missed that mark a little. It was drunken and messy, both of them leaning into it._

_And then one kiss turned into another. And another. And while both of them would vehemently deny being the one to make the first move, somehow, Trip’s hands were on Hunter’s face and Hunter was pretty obviously trying to climb into Trip’s lap._

_They broke apart, both breathing hard. Trip cocked an eyebrow. “Are we…?”_

_“Seems like it,” Hunter breathed and busied himself by biting at Trip’s jaw._

_“Are you gonna try and kill me in the morning?” Trip tried to ask and groaned half way through._

_“Please, like you’re the first guy I’ve drunkenly hooked up with.” Hunter pulled back enough to wink at him and slide himself neatly into Trip’s lap. “You?”_

_“Nah. Been a while though.” Trip settled his hands on Hunter’s hips, fingers creeping up under his shirt._

_“I can work with that.” Hunter grinned and leaned in for another kiss…_

“Well that was certainly… creative.” 

“Oh, you know, I just felt inspired. So glad you liked it,” Skye cocked her head, a big smile on her face. 

“The blow job scene…”

“Some of my finer work, yes.”

“Eight whole pages,” Simmons said slowly. “After the first few, I thought, well they must be done by now. But you just kept on writing, didn’t you?”

“Again, I was inspired.”

“That you were,” Simmons said, adjusting herself in her seat. 

Skye got up, walking over to claim her laptop. “Thanks again for reading. Best beta ever.” She patted Simmons on the shoulder and left the room.

* * *

Simmons was about to go to sleep when her phone lit up. 

_forgot earlier… 1 more thing. sending it now. BEST EDITOR EVERRRRRRR <3_

Simmons sighed. She opened up her laptop, found the email, and began. 

_They were supposed to be working. Everyone else was, at least. Skye had some on site surveillance to do, Ward and May were probably beating people up. Even Coulson was needed on the mission._

_Which left Fitz and Simmons. Alone. Sitting in their lab._

_“We could work on the drones. You were saying Sneezy needed a tune up the other day,” Simmons offered._

_“Already done,” Fitz said. “The Night-Night gun? Ward’s been complaining that it’s still off.”_

_“Of course he has,” Simmons sighed. She took a deep breath, looking over at her best friend. He was fidgeting, mindlessly. She watched as he tapped his fingers against the desk, thinking about all he could do with his hands, all he had done, really._

_“Do you remember what we used to do back at the academy? When we had some free time, that is…”_

_Fitz blushed. “You aren’t suggesting…”_

_But Simmons was already walking closer, a hard look on her face. “There is absolutely no one around. And,” she paused, close enough to whisper in his ear, “I miss us. This. Since we’ve been on the Bus, we haven’t—”_

_“Relapsed?” he raised on eyebrow._

_“Oh, that makes it sound like what we’re doing is wrong…”_

_And then he was kissing her neck, trailing his way to her collarbone, gently, as though she was something precious, breakable._

_No, she wanted more. She pulled his face up, lips quickly pressed together, urgent, tongue against tongue. He responded enthusiastically, pushing off her lab coat and leading her back. They stumbled, still kissing, until they reached the holotable. “Should we…”_

_Simmons nodded._

_He lifted her up, setting her on the table. He backed away, ever so slightly, took a deep breath, and smiled, before getting back to his task. With the greatest care, he began to unbutton her shirt. The first button, a kiss on her neck; the second, her clavicle; third, just above her left breast. But Simmons was still impatient, already unzipping her jeans._

_He tsked… she rolled her eyes._

_“Alright then,” and he moved faster, undoing his own pants as she worked on his shirt._

_And then they were together, her legs wrapped around his body, ass balanced on the holotable. God she missed this, no separation, a perfect rhythm, traveling hands, his finger dipping lower, thumb teasing at her clit. Her fingers dug into his shoulder, soft gasps as she climaxed._

_He smiled, still hard inside her._

_She hummed approvingly, trailing kisses against his jaw. “I forgot how good you are,” she murmured against his skin._

_“Oh, I had a great study partner,” he grinned._

_They were moving again, slower, taking their time. Simmons nodded towards the holotable and he moved, slipping out from between her legs and coming to a rest beside her. She pushed him down on his back, very deliberately positioning herself above, before lowering, feeling him deeper inside. He gripped her hips, fingers tight enough to make marks, as they moved together. Oh lord, she could feel it again, the pressure, the tightening, and she could see it in his face, too. They clung together, breaths sharp, soft spasms from their respective orgasms._

_After a few moments, bodies collapsed and limbs intertwined, she rolled over. With one hand propping up her head and the other lazily playing with his curls, she muttered, “When two people are so…good at something… they should really be doing it as often as possible.”_

_He nodded._

_“Let’s not wait so long… next time.”_

Simmons shut her laptop. 

How many times did she have to tell Skye they had not had sex at the academy? And, for goodness sake, someone needed to teach the girl about protection. Not to mention the safety hazards involved in…lab sex. And did she really think they would do it on the holotable? Two semesters _minimum_ of holographic engineering before you can even go near one, but no, of course, they would go and have sex there. What a mess. She could only imagine the damage. 

Plotless smut, that’s what it was. So, that’s how Skye was going to play it. Well then. Simmons would just have to get revenge. 

Jemma fell asleep thinking about numerous ways she could punish her friend. She was certainly not thinking about Fitz. His hands, his tongue… his erection. Nope. Not that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The TripLance/HuntingTrip was brought to you by skyeward-hohoho (over on tumblr... aka my amazing roommate) and the second fic within the fic was prompted by fitzsimmmonsy.


	7. Revenge (or Fanfic by Jemma)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jemma's getting some revenge...

“Fitz, how would you describe Ward’s abs?” Jemma asked over lunch. 

“Wha— um… what?” 

“His abs, Fitz. I need a creative way to describe his abdominal muscles,” Jemma repeated, her eyes trained on her computer. 

“I just— why would you ask me? It’s not like I stare at Ward’s abs that often. Ever. I never. Uh.”

Simmons rolled her eyes again. “Washboard is just too, I don’t know, cliché. Godly, maybe? Lickable? Oh, that one might work,” she smiled. 

Fitz barely stuttered a “why” in response. 

“Revenge. Two can play this game, my dear Watson. She is going to rue the day she started this little scheme,” Simmons said, turning her attention back to her laptop. “What do you think of the line: ‘She trailed her hand across his lickable abs, lower and lower, imagining other areas she could touch… and taste’?”

Fitz spluttered his tea all over the table. Simmons took that as a good sign and continued writing. 

* * *

She had gotten the idea earlier that day. In the lab. Staring at the holotable. Honestly, it was all rather ridiculous. She shouldn’t have let Skye get to her like that. And yet… all she could do was picture Fitz holding her up against that table, her hands in his hair, legs wrapped around his body. 

No! If only she could distract Skye like this, show her what it was like. 

Which was how Jemma ended up spending all of her free time (for two days straight) writing smut about Skye and… roughly half the team, actually. 

* * *

She timed it perfectly. One every few hours, scheduled for optimal awkwardness. The first one was during Coulson’s morning meeting. Halfway through, to be exact. Simmons watched as Skye’s phone lit up, saw her open the email, and did her best to keep a straight face. Skye, for her part, was rather discrete about the whole thing. In fact, if Jemma hadn’t known what was going on, she would have guessed that Skye was paying attention to Coulson (who, at the time, was in the middle of a long speech about chores). That is, until she reached a particularly graphic part. Skye’s eyes quickly darted to Ward, sitting across the room, then to her phone, before finally settling on Jemma. 

The next was during lunch. Lance was in the middle of telling a rather detailed story about someone from his past (who just about everyone had figured out was Bobbi) when Skye’s phone went off. 

“Honestly, Hunter, it sounds like the fire was your fault,” she laughed, pulling out her phone. 

Simmons sat back in her seat. 

“And if a certain ‘Hell Beast’ wasn’t on a mission, I’m going to guess she’d,” Skye stopped, eyes squinted as she realized what she was reading. A quick look at Hunter, back to the phone, then to Simmons. “Agree,” she finally finished, putting her phone back. “She’d agree.”

Around four, Simmons watched as Skye and Trip walked off to do inventory (it was their turn, according to the new chore chart Coulson had introduced that morning). Perfect. She waited a few minutes (to insure that they were already getting their work done) and then hit send. 

May and Bobbi got back from their mission around seven. They had successfully taken out a small Hydra holdout near the Pacific Southwest. According to Skye, that meant everyone needed to celebrate. And just as she was handing Bobbi a beer, Simmons sent her final message. This one took Skye completely off guard, her eyes quickly looking over Bobbi before searching out Jemma. 

Simmons slipped away, rather satisfied with herself, and went to the lab. She didn’t have anything pressing to do, really. She just enjoyed the silence, a chance to look over some results in peace. And it helped that it got her away from Skye. 

Which worked… right up until she was heading to her room for the night. All of a sudden a hand grabbed her, pulling her into a nearby room. 

“Loved all the emails today,” Skye smiled. “Not nearly as good as my HuntingTrip one, but still pretty impressive.”

“HuntingTrip?” Jemma raised an eyebrow. 

“Hunter and Trip’s ship name, duh,” Skye rolled her eyes. “But your stuff. Very… technical. I honestly didn’t think a breakdown of the science behind an orgasm could be so hot. But I guess when you have a tall blonde saying it as she fingers that cute hacker character of yours…”

“What can I say, I was inspired,” Simmons shrugged. 

“Yeah, by that one in particular. At least twice the length of the others…I have to say, this just about confirms my headcanon that you once dated a girl…”

Simmons sighed. 

“Not that that takes away from any of the other ones. Though ‘lickable' abs? Did you get Fitz to help you with the Ward one?” She joked. 

Simmons pursed her lips. 

“Anyway, just wanted to say thank you. Great stuff. So glad to see my influence,” she patted Simmons on the shoulder. “Really, I think I learned a lot. The whole speech on safe sex in the first one was especially helpful. Felt like I was in high school all over again. Oh, and the long description about erogenous zones. Just enlightening. Not to mention the focus on neck kissing… guessing you like that, huh?” Skye turned to walk out of the room. “So helpful. Just wait,” she called out. 

Jemma frowned. That was not exactly the response she had been looking for…

* * *

Simmons was waiting for Skye to make her next move. She fully expected to receive a new story that night (and even stayed up rather late, refreshing her email, waiting). But no. Nothing. 

And then she didn’t see Skye for most of the next day (which was extremely concerning). Just once as Skye walked past the lab. In fact, it wasn’t until the next evening that she was properly able to track down her friend. 

She found Skye sitting at the table in the kitchen. Across from Fitz. 

“What are you two…” She stopped right behind Fitz, eyes on the laptop in front of him. 

_… Fitz unbuttoned Simmons’ shirt, mouth still firmly against her neck, licking, sucking, inciting some particularly indecent moans…_

Simmons slammed the laptop shut. 

Skye smiled. “You seemed busy today, so I thought Fitz could give me some help.”

Fitz squirmed in his chair. 

“Skye,” Simmons said slowly. 

“We went through all the old stuff, too. I think he’s been enjoying it. In a speechless, red faced kind of way. Though occasionally he’ll make some comment about how I’m wrong. Usually the same points you made, actually.”

“Skye,” Simmons said again, her voice far more shrill.

“You haven’t read this one yet. I can send it to you later. It’s a good one.”

“Skye!” 

Fitz mumbled something about Mack needing his help and left the room. 

Jemma crossed her arms. “Too far. This has gone too far.” And she went to find her best friend.


	8. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fitzsimmons have a (long past due) conversation.

“She has a blog? About us?” Jemma asked, looking over at Skye’s computer. “Are those… How did she make gifs?!”

“I think she must have hacked the security cameras…” Fitz offered. 

“Well,” Jemma began, a hand placed on Fitz’ shoulder, “I don’t even feel a bit guilty about any of this.” And they got to work.

* * *

It had all started a few hours before. The moment Simmons left the kitchen, she went to all of Fitz’ regular spots. She just needed to find him. 

But he wasn’t in the garage. Or the lab. Simmons knocked on his bedroom door, but nothing. She sighed. There was still one place she could check. 

She found him sitting in his old bunk. She knocked on the side, a few polite taps, before walking in. 

“Hi,” she said softly. 

He nodded an acknowledgment. 

“So,” she started, sitting down on the edge of his bed. “You’ve read the stories…”

“Yep.”

“They’re ridiculous, obviously. Skye’s just trying to get a rise out of us. They’re clearly inaccurate, I mean I’m not even sure she has a complete grasp of some of the biological factors involved in, well… it’s almost like she’s writing a cheesy porno at times. And she most definitely does not have an understanding of proper social boundaries,” Jemma ranted, her words rushed. 

“How long has she… has this…” Fitz asked. 

“A couple of weeks,” Simmons frowned. “It’s been rather uncomfortable.”

“This is why she threw that party?” 

“Yeah.” Simmons glanced over, trying to properly gage his reaction. “You know, this is just Skye being… this doesn’t have to be awkward for us or anything,” she tried. 

He nodded. 

“You’re my best friend.”

He nodded again. 

“And I know we never properly talked about… we never really discussed,” she fiddled with her fingers, unsure how to continue. She took a deep breath. “We sort of fell into our old routines. Which is fine, great really,” she added quickly. “But,” she paused. “I think we are past due for an actual conversation.”

“Jemma, you don’t have to—”

She cut him off. “But I do. Because I think you have made some assumptions. And I’ve let them go because, well, it was easier not to think things through. To just be us again. I had missed it so much and I was worried about mucking it all up by considering my actual feelings and…” She paused once more. “The truth is, I love you. And you love me. But I used to think it was just… not exactly friendship. More, in some ways. I had never considered that it might be romantic love. You were just my best friend, my person. And when everything happened I—”

“Jem, you really don’t need to—”

“Oh Fitz, please. I do. My point is, well, I needed time to process it. All of it. And I was afraid because all I could think about was losing you, us, but—”

“It’s fine if you don’t feel the same w—”

But Jemma just continued, “All I can think about is kissing you. And doing other things, to be honest.” She turned to look at him again, absolutely terrified. 

Fitz seemed completely shocked. And a bit confused. “You… uh,” he blinked a few times. “Kissing?”

She nodded. 

“Well…” But Simmons didn’t give him the chance to continue. With her remaining bit of courage, she leaned forward, a quick and hesitant kiss. 

Fitz seemed more than happy to respond. He smiled and pulled her back, his hands cupping her face. 

Simmons wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that. Or how she had ended up straddling his lap, top off, with her hands under his shirt.

“We aren’t going too fast, are we? We should probably stop,” Simmons mumbled against his lips, distracted. “But then again, we’ve known each other for almost twelve years now and oh,” she gasped as he moved his attention to her neck. 

“Do you have a…”

“Yes,” Fitz said a bit too quickly, already reaching towards his old drawer. “Not that I… Just in case…” 

“And I think we might want to close that,” Simmons nodded towards door. 

“Yeah, right, of course.” And he practically slammed the door shut. He sat back down. “So, we’re going to…”

“Yeah, if you want…”

Fitz let out a small huff of laughter. “Are you kidding? You are the most beautiful girl…in existence, I think. I’ve dreamed about this—Not that I—nothing disrespectful, obviously. I just…”

It was Simmons turn to laugh. “Oh, I’ve thought of some things that could be classified as disrespectful…” 

“Right then,” Fitz smiled.

They were kissing again and Simmons was surprised by how natural it all was. So distinctly them. No cheesy pick up lines or super human feats, as Skye tended to write. Just the two of them, slightly hesitant, slightly awkward, and yet perfect, truly, as their bodies fitted together (nice and protected, thank you very much). And it was so much better than anything someone could write, anything she could imagine. Because this was her Fitz and this time it was real. 

* * *

“So,” Fitz started, looking over at Jemma, “what do we do now?”

“Hmmm,” Simmons began, her head against his chest. “Well, we should certainly do more of that.” He laughed. “But for now,” she continued, “we could get back at Skye.”

Which was how they ended up sneaking into her room. Espionage, Simmons had called it. 

“And you’re sure she won’t come barging in?” Fitz asked.

“Training with May,” Simmons nodded. “Not that I’ve memorized everyone’s schedules, it’s just easy to pick up on these things. I can’t help if I’m observant.”

“And everyone else is predictable,” he added. 

“You understand,” she smiled. “So, we could do something to her shampoo. Maybe change the chemical compounds so it does not actually give her that extra bounce.”

Fitz frowned. 

“What? It was just an idea. Which is why we’re here, ideas.”

“Oh look,” Fitz said, pointing to the bed. “Her laptop.”

“Perfect.”

Fitz walked over and opened it up. “I could try and hack into it…or… do I have time to take this apart and rebuild it?”

Simmons raised her eyebrows. 

“Right. It was just a thought… do we… we could always guess.”

“Try quake12,” Simmons said quickly. “What, I’m observant, remember?” she added in response to his quizzical look.

But that didn’t work. Simmons sighed, “Try fitzsimmons…12…oh add %” She watched as he typed it in. “Of course that’s her password,” she rolled her eyes. 

And that was when they found the blog. Along with a series of edits of them (these taken from Facebook, she assumed… Skye must have saved them back before she wiped everything about the team off the internet) with quotes from famous romantic comedies. 

“Wait,” Jemma said, as they continued to look through the computer. “She’s become far too invested in our relationship, right?”

Fitz nodded. 

“So,” Simmons continued. “We don’t need to do anything to her shampoo or mess with, I don’t even know how to classify this,” she pointed to the laptop. “We need to mess with, well, ourselves. It’s time to put our undercover experience to good use. Obviously, this will require a good deal of preparation. My room? There’s far more space than in the bunks,” she said. “But that’s for after we figure out a detailed background story,” she added. 

Fitz’ smile was enough to stop her heart (not literally, obviously, that would hardly be medically sound). 

Simmons certainly would not admit this to her overly interested and out of bounds friend… but she had never been happier.


	9. Fitzsimmons' (Evil) Genius Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fitzsimmons give Skye everything she ever wanted...

Skye found Simmons crying in the bathroom the next morning. “What happened?” she demanded. “This isn’t about what I did, because it wasn’t exactly a good-job-50-points-to-Hufflepuff moment, but I—”

“Oh no,” Simmons managed between sobs. “It’s… well, if you must know, it’s Fitz. We got in a terrible fight.”

Skye’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”

“He… well, he thought I told you about us. I tried to explain that it wasn’t my fault that you had figured it all out, but…”

“Wait, what?”

“You were right! About everything, actually. We used to sleep together all the time back at the academy. And I can’t believe you knew about the holotable incident. It was one time…”

Skye stood there speechless for a long moment. “Oh my God,” she breathed out. 

“I know! This is almost as bad that month I dated this really cute lab assistant, back before we joined the team. Fitz was so jealous of her, even though he knew that our relationship was open…”

All Skye could do was mouth the word ‘her’.

“I just—I’m sorry, may I have a moment?” Jemma asked, sniffling. 

Skye nodded. “If you need to talk,” she offered. 

“I just need to be alone for a bit. But thank you,” Simmons smiled weakly. 

The moment Skye left the bathroom, Simmons took out her phone. 

_Plan is in action. Stage 2. Remember your speech._ Then she added a few emoticons for good measure. 

This was all rather fun, actually. 

* * *

Jemma waited about 10 minutes before she walked into the kitchen. Both Skye and Fitz were already there, in the middle of a long discussion, it seemed. _Perfect_ , Jemma thought. _Just like we planned._

“Skye, I don’t care what you say. I’m done.”

“But you two have such a long history together!” Skye practically whined, leaning halfway across the table. 

Fitz glanced up, quickly, realizing that Simmons was there. He smiled briefly before remembering what he was supposed to do. 

He took a deep breath. “No. I can’t do this. She’s never all in. This is just like when she was dating our old lab assistant. And don’t even get me started on her on and off relationship with Agent Car—”

It was Simmons’ turn. “Leave Sharon out of this!”

Skye’s head whipped back to see Simmons. “You don’t mean—”

But Simmons just continued, “Why don’t you tell Skye what I caught you and Mack doing after the Christmas party? I bet she’d love that!”

“You said you wouldn’t tell anyone!” Fitz yelled back. 

“Well, I’m not ashamed of my sexuality. Or my sexual desires. Speaking of, has anyone seen Agent Triplett lately?”

Skye almost fell off of her chair. 

“And now that again,” Fitz huffed. “See, she’s intolerable. I don’t even want— I can’t even be near her!” He grabbed his bowl of pretzels and stormed out of the room. 

“Good riddance,” Simmons muttered, rolling her eyes in an overly exaggerated manner. “I don’t even want tea anymore,” she added, turning towards the door. 

Skye looked like she wanted to say something but Simmons thought it best to leave her there. 

She found Fitz a few halls down, where they had agreed to meet. 

“I think that went rather well,” Simmons beamed. 

“Stage 3, then?” Fitz asked. 

“Stage 3,” Simmons nodded. She placed a quick kiss on his cheek before heading towards the lab. 

* * *

Simmons was surprised by how little convincing she had to do to get the rest of the team on board (other than Mack, who mainly grunted and agreed to help Turbo out). Even May offered to go along with the whole thing. 

“Now, it’s important that Skye doesn’t find out. Coulson too,” she reminded the group. 

Trip just smiled. “We’ve got you covered, girl,” he winked. 

After everyone else left, Fitz walked over. “Are you sure this is the best plan? She might actually… well, she might like this.”

Simmons laughed. “Not the way we’re doing it.” 

This didn’t seem to comfort Fitz. 

Simmons tried again, “Well, it was this or the venereal disease option…”

“Right. Yeah. This one’s better.”

“Thought so,” Simmons smiled. “Now, I was thinking we can really start tomorrow. My room?”

“I know what I’m supposed to…” Fitz started. “Oh, you mean… yeah, that. If that’s what you… of course, you’re the one who suggested…”

Simmons bit her lip. Oh boy, she was already in too deep. 

* * *

Stage three officially went into action the next morning. 

“Simmons, you’ve been in there forever,” Skye whined, knocking on the door. 

Simmons looked at the time. Another minute or so should do. She threw a few extra tissues in the trash for good measure. 

“Sorry,” she muttered, walking out the door. “Something must be going around. Hunter had it the other day and I guess…”

“Ew. TMI,” Skye said, pushing past Simmons. 

Then, during lunch, Trip and Bobbi stepped in. Bobbi, Skye, and Simmons were all sitting at the table. 

“Simmons, you look good,” Trip said, walking over to the fridge. “Glowing,” he added. 

Bobbi turned to face Simmons. “Actually, that is exactly the word I would use,” she said, her arms crossed. 

“I… I have to go,” Simmons muttered, trying her best to sound uneasy. 

Skye watched her as she hurried out of the room, her brows furrowed.

Later, when Skye was headed to her training session with May, Fitz and Simmons were strategically in place, the door to the storage closet propped open ever so slightly. 

“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice hushed. 

“Yes. And this is my decision. I’m telling Coulson tonight.”

“Well, if you really don’t want me involved…”

Which was just about when May walked over and yelled at Skye for being late. 

By the time the evening rolled around, Skye had finally had enough. “Simmons has been acting weird all day,” she complained to Mack and Ward. 

Mack nodded. “Turbo seemed pretty tense, too.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Ward offered. 

Skye rolled her eyes. “Trust me. I can sense these things. I mean, I know they’re fighting. And let me tell you, that was a fascinating look into the life of the science babies. Oh, and uh, good one,” she winked at Mack, before getting back to her point. “I just… I have this suspicion… but it can’t be true. After the lectures I’ve gotten from Simmons—”

“Oh, can we please stop with all this dramatic nonsense,” Hunter interrupted from behind the couch, a bottle in hand. “I am done with this. You know, I just saw Simmons practically blubbering on her way to Coulson’s office. And she stopped and said ‘it’s been a pleasure working with you’. Women,” he sighed, taking a swig of his beer. 

Skye sat up a bit straighter. “Wait. I… Oh my God, I have to check something.”

She ran to the bathroom. _It’s so obvious_ , she thought, staring at the trashcan. _Clearly, Jemma tried to hide it._ And there it was, buried under a pile of tissues. A positive pregnancy test. 

Skye grabbed a clean tissue, picked it up, and headed right to Coulson’s office. She didn’t even bother knocking. “Jemma, you can’t leave. I know being pregnant on a secret base isn’t ideal and all and that Shield isn’t exactly the safest place to have a kid, but,” she paused, taking a proper look at her surroundings. 

Jemma was standing next to Coulson, the pair of them bent over what appeared to be a series of reports. She had stepped back, her eyebrows raised, a coy smile on her face. Coulson, meanwhile, looked like he was contemplating the merits of fainting versus spontaneous combustion. 

“What?” he looked at Simmons for an explanation. 

She merely shrugged. “I have no idea, Sir.”

“But. Wait a second,” Skye frowned. “Jemma Simmons. Outside. Now.”

Simmons turned towards Coulson. “I’m sorry, I think she must need some help. Possibly a sedative,” she added, a look of concern on her face. 

Skye waited until they were well away from Coulson’s office to get properly angry. “What kind of stupid plan was that?!” she demanded. 

“What?” Simmons asked far too innocently. “Isn’t that everything you wanted?”

“No!”

“Oh really,” Simmons said. “Because we had it all covered. The past relationships, the whole friends with benefits dynamic, the lack of contraceptives…”

“Making me look like an idiot in front of Coulson, yeah, good one,” Skye rolled her eyes. 

“Well, maybe if you stopped trying to plan our lives, we wouldn’t have had to do all this.”

“Oh right. And I went too far. How did you even manage this?” Skye asked, waving the pregnancy test in front of Simmons. She paused, realizing what she was holding, and then dropped it on the floor. 

“I’m a biochemist,” Simmons sighed. “The chemical components of those are extremely easy to manipulate.”

But Skye didn’t seem to be paying much attention. “And if you really wanted to do everything the way I had written it, then you might actually be happy! God, why can’t you just open your eyes and see that you are madly in love with him? For two geniuses, you two are just… oblivious!” she ranted. 

The ground had started to shake slightly. That hadn’t happened since Skye had learned how to control her powers. Jemma sighed. Fine. She didn’t want the base to collapse. 

“Well, if you must know, we have slept together approximately four times now and, well, it’s pretty early to make any definite conclusions but… you might have had a point.”

The ground stopped shaking. Skye simply titled her head. “What?”

“And no, this isn’t because of your silly stories. Not entirely. We… we finally talked things through. Properly. And then… it progressed, so—”

But Simmons stopped, suddenly finding herself in the middle of a bear hug. 

“You are so stupid. God, I love you,” Skye smiled. “I’m calling it. Girls’ Night. I’ll get Bobbi. Who knows, May might even join us this time. I want to hear everything.” Skye started down the hall, happily muttering something that sounded a lot like ‘stupid science babies’.

Jemma sighed. Skye hadn’t exactly learned her lesson, but… a girls’ night did sound nice. And, if she was being honest, she was practically bursting with everything that was going on. Yes, talking would be good. Some time with friends, a few drinks. 

And who knows, maybe later she’d find herself in Fitz’ room. Really, things could be worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so there's probably going to be about one more chapter.... and an epilogue (of course). Annnnddddd I decided to have Skye identify as Hufflepuff largely because in this universe Skye has most definitely seen AVPM and would love to make 'Hufflepuffs are good finders' jokes (naturally).


	10. Those Three Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Girls’ Night gets Jemma to do some thinking.

“Psh. Dare,” Bobbi said, sitting back in her chair.

“Give me your phone,” Skye smiled, her hand already out.

“Oh, you might want to pick truth,” Jemma suggested, taking a sip of her margarita. Skye had insisted on making them for Girls’ Night.

“Shut up, I have a plan,” Skye said, already typing. After a few minutes she grinned. “Alright, now take your shirt off. I need a picture.”

“That’s cheating. Completely new dare,” Bobbi pointed out.

“No, it falls under the umbrella of this one, singular dare,” Skye insisted.

Both Bobbi and Simmons disagreed.

“Fine, I don’t need it. I was graphic enough,” she smiled as obnoxiously as possible and handed the phone back.

Bobbi groaned. “You texted Hunter.”

“Sexted,” Skye corrected. “What? I need a new project,” she shrugged. “Trust me. This will all work out. I have a great track record,” she nodded towards Simmons.

Simmons rolled her eyes and took another long sip of her drink.

“Speaking of,” Skye started, pointedly adjusting her chair. “I want details. All of them. Like does Fitz know what he’s doing? Was I right about the whole hands thing? Size? Visual aids are allowed here.”

“It’s not your turn anymore, Bobbi gets to ask someone,” Simmons pointed out. 

“Oh, I’m actually on board with this. Simmons, answer the questions.”

Simmons frowned. “I didn’t even choose truth.”

“We all knew you were going to choose it. Bobbi, back me up,” Skye said.

“That’s all you’ve picked this entire game,” Bobbi pointed out.

“Well, then, dare,” Jemma crossed her arms.

“Sneak into Fitz’ room, take a dick pic, text it to the group chat,” Skye said before Bobbi could have a chance to speak.

“SKYE!” both Bobbi and Simmons yelled in response.

“She can always choose truth,” Skye shrugged. “Really, you should all be proud of my restraint here. I could have asked those questions much earlier.”

“You did,” Bobbi said.

“And when I didn’t respond you said something about liquoring me up and asking again,” Jemma added.

“Well, clearly you have not had enough to drink,” Skye muttered under her breath.

“Fine. Truth. But only one question. And it’s Bobbi’s turn to ask.”

Bobbi paused, thinking it over. “Are you in love?” she finally asked. She had her interrogation face on, as though she was more than ready to force an answer or analyze ever one of Simmons’ words.

“I—oh, it’s really too soon to say anything. I mean, obviously Fitz and I love each other. We’ve been best friends since we were seventeen. But, we’ve only been in a, well, a romantic relationship for a few days. So, obviously, I can’t say anything yet, because I would really need to process it all, figure out my feelings, possibly make a chart or a graph or something of the sort…”

“Oh, she’s in love,” came a voice from the corner. May stepped out, walking towards the table, an almost undetectable grin on her face.

“How long have you been here?” Skye asked, impressed.

“Long enough,” May said. She gave Skye a knowing look.

“Verbal cues,” Bobbi offered, looking over at May.

“And physical,” May said by way of approval. “Skye?” she asked.

“Yeah, definitely all that. She won’t make eye contact. Fidgeting.” Skye added.

Jemma sat back in her seat. She didn’t much like becoming the subject of a lesson on interrogation techniques.

“And,” Skye continued, “there’s the way she looks at him. I mean this is pre all-my-dreams-came-true-and-they-are-finally- _together_ -together but we could all see it, right? Simmons looks at Fitz like he’s the only important person to have ever existed and Fitz looks at Simmons like she’s an actual goddess.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Simmons waved off.

“Oh, she’s definitely in love,” May said. “Take your feet off the chair, I’m going to grab a drink,” she added, looking at Skye.

“You’re going to join?” Skye seemed both excited and terrified.

“I’m going to show you how this is done,” May corrected.

This time the grin was clear.

* * *

Jemma knew, objectively, that one could not technically win Truth or Dare. But May definitely won. And, really, Jemma couldn’t wait to see Coulson’s reaction when he realized all of his collectibles had been replaced with pictures of Steve Rogers dressed as the Sailor Scouts.

By the time they were finished it was pretty late. No. Early. They would have to be up soon. In fact, Simmons was pretty sure she saw May head right to the gym instead of her room.

Simmons was about to go to her own room. But Fitz’ door came first and she already knew it would be unlocked. It wasn’t that he was careless, like Skye had guessed in her fics. He still had some trouble with keys, fumbling from time to time. Honestly, he had never been much good with them (a fact she had made fun of him for—often—back at the academy… the engineer who couldn’t work a lock).

Simmons slipped inside, trying her best to close the door as quietly as possible. She had to use her cellphone to light the way, stepping by piles of clothes and shoes scattered across the floor. Then she climbed into bed, slowly, carefully, and turned off the light.

“Hi,” Fitz muttered sleepily, rolling over to face her.

“Hi,” Jemma said softly. “Go back to sleep.”

He nodded in the dark, adjusting so she could fit herself against his chest.

She waited until his breathing was even, heartbeat steady against her cheek. “I love you,” she whispered before falling asleep.

* * *

But she didn’t say it properly for another month.

A month of mirrored movements and bickering and science. And new things: kissing, hands absentmindedly linked during mission briefings. Bodies wrapped together late into the night, and, after, her head against his chest, a makeshift pillow.

“Do you know what today is?” Jemma asked, handing Fitz his morning tea.

He smiled. “Happens every year. Your turn, yeah?”

“No, yours, I think?”

“What are you two nerds arguing about?” Skye asked, walking over to grab some cereal.

“It’s Marie Curie’s birthday,” Fitz started.

“And our first year, back at the Academy, I decided we should celebrate by going to this fascinating exhibit—”

“Terrible. So terrible,” Fitz cut her off. “There were dead things everywhere.”

“So, Fitz decided that the next year he would get to choose what we do—”

“You loved that zoo. Don’t act like it isn’t true.”

“Anyway,” Simmons continued, “we’ve been taking turns ever since. Things got a bit… difficult when. Well, we missed a year…”

“We could just share the day. Do something we’d both like,” Fitz offered.

“Perfect,” Simmons smiled.

First Skye made a very loud awww sound. Then she started singing her best approximation of porno background music.

Simmons just rolled her eyes.

* * *

They didn’t have all that much time to plan. And, seeing as they were stuck on a secret base, they didn’t exactly have a lot of options. Which was how they ended up baking a birthday cake (Jemma loved baking, Fitz loved eating… it was the perfect compromise).

“How did you get flour on your face?” Jemma asked, wiping away a smudge from his cheek.

“Shh, it’s my process,” he said, staring at the cake.

“Right. Your process. You barely helped,” she pointed out. “And no, it still needs another minute to cool.”

Fitz continued to stare rather intently at the cake. At the same time, he started to fidget with her hair, twirling a bit around his finger.

“Yes?” she asked. “Do you happen to want something?”

“Oh, I was thinking of ways we could… well… waste time. You know, until the cake is ready,” his eyes darted to meet hers before going back to the cake.

“Hmm… Any ideas?”

“Oh, a few.” He turned to face her, his hand still in her hair. He pulled her closer, using his free hand to tilt her face up. “You have cocoa powder on your chin.”

“Is it because you just put it there?”

“Probably because you’re so messy. Blinded by baking and all.”

She laughed, a small huff, before closing the gap. And then her mind went a little fuzzy, focused on his lips, his tongue, the feel of his scruff against her face. 

She pulled back. “We could keep doing that. Or we could frost the cake. Your choice.”

He brought his hand up to his chin, as though he had to give this some serious thought. “Cake first.”

She rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

She grabbed her homemade frosting, slathering it on the cake, and spreading until it was even. Then she took out a piping bag, filling it up. “What do we want to write?” she glanced over her shoulder, looking at Fitz.

Again he took this very seriously, his face scrunched up in thought. Simmons fully turned around, piping bag in hand, and put a small dot of frosting on his cheek.

“Hey. What’s that for?”

Jemma smiled. “You looked like you needed it.” She licked it off of his cheek.

This time it was his turn to smile.

“Alright. I have an idea,” she said, her attention back on her frosting.

Very carefully, she spelled out ‘I love you’.

When Fitz saw her final work, his eyes grew wide. He looked like a small child on Christmas. Or how (she assumed) he would look if someone gave him a monkey. “Yeah?” he asked, a hopeful question.

She nodded tightly, quickly. “I know we’ve sort of said it before. That we love each other. But I mean, you know, in the romantic way. And that just seemed more serious and brought back what happened in the—”

But he didn’t let her finish. “I love you too.”

* * *

“I love you,” she said, whispered against his ear. “I love you,” again, this time against his neck. “I love you. I love you,” over and over as his hands traced its way across her body.

He said it too. “I love you,” mumbled against her stomach as he kissed his way further down. And, later, “I love you,” their eyes locked together, his stunning blue so intent, so focused, as he lowered himself, sinking inside.

Their movements were slow, delicate, tender, accompanied by a stream of ‘I love you’s. And Jemma realized just how comfortable, how perfect, it all was. Fitz was her person and she was in love.

* * *

(They didn’t end up eating the cake until the middle of the night. When Jemma went to go grab them slices, wrapped in his robe, she found the cake in the fridge. Someone must have put it away. A slice was missing and a note was placed by its side.

 _You two disgust me -Skye xxxxxxx_ ).


End file.
